Pencil-sharpener.



E. P. EARLE.

PEN C|L SHARPENER. APPLICATION meu MAY24.1911.

LBQQBQQ g Patented Jan. 15,1918'.

M AWV@ P. EAB-LE, OF TOWNVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA.

Y PENCIL-SHARPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Palm-mfp@ J 31M 15, 191% Application tiled May 24, 1917. Serial No. 170,754.

ener that will be extremely cheap to nianufacture, easy to construct and eiiicient-in operation.

l-inother object. of roy invention is to forni the base and housing ot the pencil sharpener or' hut two strips of nietal which niay be stamped out troni two blanks, it necessitating but one operation on each blank to correctly cut out the saine and the two blanksV then be easily and quickly bent by hand or otherwise, to torni the coniplete base and housing tor the cutter. Y

Still another object of i'ny invention is to provide a pencil Sharpener wherein an ordinary or connnon type ot' cutter may be useda which cutters are comparatively cheap to buy, so that the entire articleyconsisting of the base, housing, bearing and cutter and the added cost ot' labor `will amount to but little;

Still another object of 1ny invention. is to provide a pencil Sharpener wherein there is a little lest motion between the cutter and the bearing so that the point will not be jannned up against the .inner end of tie cutter which would result in the breaking of the saine, and the pencil is capable of asniall axial alineinent.

Vitill another object of niy invention is to provide a pencil sharpener that will occupy but little space and that inay be readily and quickly" ttached to a desk or other support.

W ith these and other objects in view niy invention consists in certain new and novel constructions and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the clainis.

liefert-ing now to the drawings forming a part hereof and wherein like numerals designate the saine parts,

Figure l is a perspective view of the pencil Sharpener in its complete or assembled condition.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view with a part of the cutter broken away for the sake of clearness. v i

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the sanie.

Fig. t shows thc base or support stamped out ot a single strip or nietal.

Fig. 5 is a plan view oti the cut out strip ot nietal torniing the housing.

F 6 is a perspective ot the strip shown in Fig. et but in its bent up condition.

Fig. 'i' is a view of the strip shown in 5 but likewise in its final bent position and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective ot the bcaring tor the outer end of the .cutter Referring now to the several views and Fig. t in particular, it will be seen that a strip of metal 1 inay be stamped out in one operation to torni the base and which base..

l at its central portion, has the parallel sides 2 and 3. lt is then cutaway as at -t and and at the ends the circular portions (i and 7 are orined. rthrough the circular portion 'l' a piece of metal is stamped out leaving the opening S and at the opposite end a piece is also stamped out leaving the somewhat smaller opening 9. Y

Between the parallel sides 2y and 3 a hole is formed, 10, as shown, t'or the reception oi a screw 11 which will afterward be nien tioned.

Formed near each end of the base 1 are the lugs l2 and lf3 and directly on the ends ot the portions 6 and 7 are the further lugs 15 and l5. rlhis strip ot inctal is then bent so that the ends 6 and T extend in an upright position or at right angles to the base. as clearly shown in F ig. 6.

Referring now tor the nionient to 5 and 7, it will be seen that a strip of nietal 17 is cut out as shown. which strip forms the housing or' the complete article. This strip or housing has the circular opening 18 positioned centrally ot' its length and along its sides are formed the indentations if), which indentations are to receive the lugs 1Q. 13, 15 and 16. rthe strip 1'? is prc'ler ably rectangular in shape before bent and is then bent to forni the housing as clearly shown in Fig. 7.

`Wedged in the opening S is the bearing 20, as may be seen in Fig. 2, and this bearing has a flange that forms a stop Q1 which contacts with the inner side of the base l when the said bearing is forced in the opening 8. Just beyond the lug 2l 1s a projecting por lill tion 2Q which is slightly tapered `and forms a conical shaped bearing for the endlotia cutter' 23, which cutter has the usual knife other words, the cutter 23 and enlargement 521i and shaft 25 may slide laterally for a small distance, the end of the cutter however, remaining on the conical shaped projection 22. rThe taper of the projection 22 conforms to the taper of the cutter 23, but ofcourse is slightly small in diameter, so that the cutterwill revolve freely thereon.

By providing even this small amount of lost motion in the cutter 23 in case the bearing 2O ivasfnot put in absolutely at right angles to the base, the cutter 23 will be able to correctly aline itself with the pencil that is placed in through the bearing 20 and in this way avoid breaking the point of the pencil. Furthermore, the point is not as apt to be jammed in the edge of the cutter 23 if there is this slight amount of lost motion.

Formed in the top of the housing 17 .is the opening 18 heretofore referred to, the object of the same being that should the point of a pencil become broken or wedged in the cutter 23, a small implement, such as a pin, etc., might be passed through the openingl 1S and the broken point of lead forced outof the slotin the cutter 28. Also shavings sometimes collect in this slit in the cutter which may be removed in the abovementioned manner.

In the opening` 10 formed in the base, a screw 11 is soldered or otherwise securely fastened so that to attach the pencil sharpener to a desk or support it is only necessary to place the same on the support and revolve the same until the screvvhasdeeply ernbedded itself in the support To assemble the device after the blanks are cut out and bent as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the bearing 20 is wedged tightly Within the opening 8 and the handle passed through the opening 9. The sides 6 and 7 are then forced inwardly and the housing 17 placed over the ends of the base and the little lugs tightly pressed down within the indentations formed in the said housing.

From the foregoing it willb'e seen that I have provided a pencil Sharpener that is efficient in operation, comprising but a minimum number of parts, the base and housing of which may loe-struck from a single strip of metal and the labor of assembling the entire article is reduced to a minimum. By providing a slight amount of lost motion, the cutter may move slightly laterally and in this mannerA prevent the jamming of the point and allow for a small amount of axial alinement, as itis to be remembered that and bent to form a cover for said base', said housing having` an opening formed in the upper portion thereof and means fastened to said base for securing the same to a support, a cutting member within said housing and means for rotating said-cutting member.

VA pencil Sharpener' comprising a base struck from a single strip of metal and a housing struck from a. single strip of metal and secured to said base,v a bearing adapted to be wedged in an opening formed in said base strip of metal andthe inner end of said bearing provided with a flange and a `tapered portion, a conically shaped cutter having one end loosely mounted on said tapered portion and a handle connected to the other end of said cutting portion and said cutter capable of lateral movement as well as rotation by said handle.

3. A pencil Sharpener comprising'a base and housing` each struck from a single strip of metal, said strip having two diilerent sized openings formed in its ends and an opening formed in the center of said strip'. al bearing wedged in one of said openings and a shaft loosely mounted in the other of said openings, a conically shaped cutter supported at one end by said shaft and the other `end of said cutter loosely mounted on the said bearing, said cutter thereby capable of a slight lateral movement and a handle con-` nected to said shaft for rotating said cutterl member.. Y

ln testimony whereof l afliX my signature.

arias P. EARLE.

l l l Copies of this patent. may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

